Shoe machine frame



June 30, 1953 A. R. MoRRlLL v 2,543,526

SHOE MACHINE FRAME Filed May 1o, 1949 4 sheets-sheet 1 l June 30, 1953 A. R. MoRRlLI.

sHoE MACHINE FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May l0, 1949 June 30, 1953 A. R. MoRRlLL 2,643,626

, sHQE MACHINE FRAME Filed May 1o, 1949 4 snags-sheet s June 30, 1953 A. n. MoRRlLL SHOE MACHINE FRAME 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 10, 1949 mentar Ala/Mw Patented June 30, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,643,62 sHoE MACHINE FRAME Alfred ,MorilL .,Vd-eceased, late of. Woodstock, vt., bynuthgw. Morrill, administrada, Woede,

s'gtoc'k, Yt.; assignorto United uShoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N,v J., a corporation The presentinvention relates to improvements in supporting framesv for heavily constructed Inachines andrmore particularly to frames for Inachines of the type employed high-speed shoe sewing, which frames frequently have arrangements for heightwi's'e adjustments. YA machine of this type embodying the features" of the present invention is illustrated anddescribed in the present inventors cop'endi'ng application for United States Letters Patent Serial No.f70'6,219, filed October 28, 1946, for Shoe Sewing Machines l(now Patent No. 2,502,629, grntednpiil fi, 1950),. of

which application the present application is a division. j

One object of the invention is to enable. the use oi an especially rugged light weight and inexpensive construction and arrangement of parts in a fabricated supporting hframe of Y a sewing machine. Another object of the invention is to provide a fabricated frame for a sewing orV other machine of similar nature` in which a structure having both thin relatively exible sheety metal and heavy rigid castings are employed to con-V tribute their characteristics to eachother with the result that breakage isfar less likely to occur than heretofore during shipment. A

In a machinel frame disclosedinan application for Unitedtates Letters Patent, No. 606,895?, led July'A 25, 1945;,` in thevl name of Frederick' A. Prahl, Jr. (now Patent No.- 2,54fi,7 23,- granted March 13, 1951)', a fabricated constructionof Open box-likerfrorm with C-shaped @rese-Senne provides yielding resilient action to absorb shoks imparted to a rigid base member in the frame and reduces breakageof'the frame andbase or injury to the operating partsuof the machine during transportation. Such frame iseffective where comparatively lightweight machines are to be supported. For the support of heavier ma-A chines, particularly when l.the framefand machine are assembled for transportation from one place to another as a unit, the frame of the application referred to may have excessive yield;

ing action under rough handling.; Furthermore, n

the frame of the Prahl application is arranged for convenient height adjustment and is provided with a motormsupporft' separately'mounte'd upon the frame. When the frame is raised and lowered, therefore,v the motor support isnotfsimilarly raised and lowered so that if a driving belt is employed to connect theI machine, the belt will be thrown out of adjustment when the frame height is changed. As ay result a separate height adjustment for the motor support: must be made;

More particularly an object of the present 2 Y invention is to provide Such frame structure with improved. rnans of adjustment to enable the heightof the machine to beslited readily t0 the requirements Of the operator. A still .further ob-v ject is to improve and render more' effective the frame of the Prahl applicationabove identified. Accordingly, a feature of the present invention relates to an improved fabricated frame for a shoe sewingl or similar machine head having a rigid base, ordinarily' composed of castV iron,ra hollow yielding column of relatively"lightv weight flexible sheet metal resiliently mounted on the base, arigid post within the column of substantially smaller dimensions than the column to provide vacant space about the post and a bearing sleeve secured to the upper portion of the column for releasabl'y clamping the post to provide easy vertical adjustment, in which a second bearing sleeve is secured to the base for receiving the lower end ofthe post to limit the yielding action of the column. n `Preferably, a motor support is secured to the post between the two bearing sleeves within the column Vto enable movementvof the post and machine head while maintaining a uniform distance between the motor support and the head. Bythisconstruction no separate adjustment is'necessary to insure proper tightness of the driving belt. The motor support being carried by the'post, a rigid construction is provided n ot affected by the yielding action o f the sheet metal column between the base and thesewing head. In one form of this feature the driving beltv passes abouta variable speed pulley andjmeans inside the column is arranged for shifting themotor support alongethe rigid post to vary the driving. ratio ofthe pulley in tighten-V ing or loosening the belt. As hereinafter described, use is made of the space within the column to house a jack screw for raising or lowering the' machine supporting post in addition tothe post olalnieiii s 'lhes'emand ,otherjvfeatures ofl the invention as hereinafter described I and*l claimed will become apparent from the following detailed speciica-y tinand accompanying drawings, in which n Fig. 1 is a viewinffront elevation of a machine embodyingthe iriven'tiorli;Al

Fig. 2 is a vif-nv in right( side elevation of the mach-ine offFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sidev sectional view on an enlarged scale of the supporting column for the machine looking from' the right;

Fig. 4' is aA horizontaly section of the' supporting column and base-of the'machineas" viewed along the line IVIV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is another similar section as viewed along the line V-V of Fig. 3.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is a stitch-down thread lasting machine arranged for operation upon an unchanneled extension sole and an overlapping marginal portion of an upper mounted on a last, a through-and-through seam being inserted in the parts. The sewing head of the machine is indicated at i8 and is supported upon a rigid cast metal floor mounting member I2 forming a base within which is fulcrumed a control treadle I4 projecting `from the front of the machine. The structure for supporting the sewing head on the base is particularly advantageous for the purpose intended and presents a comparatively smooth, unbroken external contour while at the same time enabling easy and eiective height adjustment of the machine without the use of especially constructed expensive parts, the assembly of which is dilicult or inconvenient. The structure is fabricated to combine in a particularly desirable mannerthe best qualities of castings and enclosing sheet metal of substantial exibility and resiliency while maintaining an arrangement providing lightness. together with maximum rigidity.

According to the invention a construction is employed which is an improvement over that disclosed in the Prahl application providing effective shock absorption while limiting the yielding torsional action within practical limits. The improved construction not only provides practical limits to the yielding action but also enables the use of a motor support arrangement of a particularly desirable form. The driving connections of the machine also are enclosed by the structure, thus guarding against accidental contact with moving machine parts and obviating the necessity of separate guard members.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the frame of the structure has a resilient shock absorbing column Iii, similar to the column of the Prahl application, connecting the base member I2 with a machine head supporting member so arranged as to limit the yielding action of the column on the base.

rIhe column I6 supports the weight and encloses many of the devices and moving parts of the machine. It comprises a single plate bent into rectangular form with smoothly rounded v corners and spaced vertical edges at the reraward side, giving a cross sectional-shape resembling generally the letter C. The sheet metal plate of the hollow column has good weight supporting characteristics but for torsional resistance along its heightwise axis, particularly in resisting strains set up during shipment of the machine, reinforcement of the column isdesirable.

For the purpose of accentuating the yielding action, a resilient mounting at the upper end of the column consists of a anged plate I8 (see Figs. 3 and 5) to which is secured by bolts or machine screws 20 at location spaced inwardly of the anges on the plate a vertical cylindrical cast metal bearing sleeve 22. To mount the column resiliently on the base, the lower end of the column has secured to it the fianges of a plate 23 bolted at 25 at similarly inwardly spaced positions, best shown in Fig. 4. The sleeve is substantially smaller internally than the internal cross-sectional area of the column and is arranged vertically nearer to the front edge of the plate i8. Within the sleeve is disposed a hollow rigid post 24 fitting the sleeve for vertical sliding movement and having at its upper end the machine support to be described.

If the supporting column IB is constructed of sheet metal having a light gage the flexibility of the column, due to its manner of resilient mounting on the base, may be excessive, particularly during shipment of the machine. As a result the torsional action on the column may be carried beyond the elastic limit with the result that the column will be distorted permanently. To avoid excessiver torsional action and swaying movement of the column beyond the elastic limit, in the embodiment of one feature of the invention, the rigid post '24 is made longer than the corresponding post in the frame of the Prahl application, reachingnearly to the bottom of the base l2 and passing loosely through a second bearing sleeve 26 formed integrally with the base I2. The hollow post 24 forms a backbone for the supporting structure of the frame not only to give the structure torsional strength but also to hold the column from swaying movement on the base beyond practical limits.

To secure the post 24 adjustably in fixed position in the sleeve 22, the rearward side of the post is slotted at 28 (se Fig. 4) and a downwardly extending rim of the sleeve 22 carries a clamping bolt 3Q having its head inside the post and its shank passing through the slot 3E). By tightening the nut on the clamp bolt 3S, the post is secured against vertical movement in the sleeve. For use while the machine is being shipped from one factory to another, means similar to the bolt 3D may be employed to clamp the sleeve 2S in the base to the post 24.

To adjust the height of the machine vertically, the clamping means including the bolt 3G is loosened and a vertically arranged jack screw 32 is rotated. The jack screw 32 is threadedly received within the bearing sleeve 22 and engages at its upper end a support or flange 34 for a sewing head mounting at the upper end of the post 24. The lower end of the jack screw 32 is squared to receive a. wrench and is accessible together with the nut on the clamp bolt 3i) through the opening provided between the spaced vertical edges of the column I6.

For actuating the machine a driving motor 36 is provided. The motor is mounted on the post 24 which carries along its central portion between the bearing sleeves 22 and 2B a second support in the form of a bracket 38 Within the column having a sleeve portion surrounding the post and a rearwardly extending portion to which is clamped a motor support bracket di). The rearwardly extending portion of the bracket 38 and the motor support bracket dll together form a projection passing outside the column between its Vertical edges in a manner to form a particularly rugged construction with the full weight of the operating parts both in the machine head and the driving motor bracket supported by the post '24. The entire weight of the operating parts in the machine is borne in turn by the sheet metal column IB in the form of compression only, the lateral 'strains applied to the column, which is of relatively thin gage, being limited by the restraint offered by the post in the bearing sleeve 26.

A further feature of the invention relating to the supporting structure for the driving motor 35 provides a quick acting speed adjustment of a driving belt 42 between the motor and the sewing head of the machine, both said adjustment parte and the driving connections being tiene the ilanges and the belt moves inwardly toward the central axis of the pulley as the belt is tightened, thus reducing the effective diametery of the pulley and reducing. the speed of' the sewing shaft accordingly. When the belt is loosened, the opposite action takesy place, the belt moving outwardly along the conical flangesof'the pulleyy dll.

Io tighten or loosenthe belt 42j and thus to changethe speed of a main `sewing shaft d'6. (see Fig. 2), in the headV of the machine, the bracket 38 is slidingly mounted on the post 2xt and adjustable means is connected between the post and the bracket. To slide the bracket on the post the vbracket receives a vertical threaded rod d8, the upper end of which has an enlarged lug through which passesv a pin` 50'; secured. di'- ametrically to the post 24. The threaded rod [lil is surrounded at its lower end with an internally threaded helical gear 52`d`isposed within a side opening of the bracket 33. Meshing, with the teeth on the, gear 52 is. a corresponding gear ft of somewhat smaller diameter secured' on a horizontal adjusting shaft, 56 rotatablein bearings formed by the bracket 3R and arranged to project through vertical slots in the post.. and' a corresponding slot 58. in the forward side of. the column It. On the forward end of thev adjusting shaft 5*` is a hand" wheel` 6B, rotation of which causes the helical'. gear 54'. to rotate and. raise or lower the bracket 38 on the. post 2.4', increasing or reducing the distance between the bracket and the head support Lili. Movement of the bracket on the post tightens or loosens the belt. i2 in the desired manner withoutchangng thecver-all height oi. the machine. Due to: thev arrangement of the motor support bracketon the post, height-adjusting movement of the post. to raise and lower the sewing head. ofthe machine does not change the sewing speed ofthe machiney or affect the driving belt in any way.

To impart a nished` and pleasing. appearance to the machine-supporting structure, the support flange @il has secured to its under surface a two-part apron 62 provided with downwardly extending sides fitting closely withtheouter sur faces oi the column I6. When the. height of the machine on the column is. changed,.the apron G2 moves with the sewing head'` but the down.-

wardly extending. sides of the apronareofsuicient length to overlap thecolumn in allpositions oi the sewing head.

The machine is equipped with a high=speed driving and a low-speed reverse stopping mechanism of compact and relatively simple design arranged conveniently for bringingthe. machine to rest with the stitch-forming.y devices inv a predetermined relationshipl free of.V the. work. and with the shoe-clamping members released from the shoe so that a new shoe mayreadilyv be sub.- stituted ior a sewnone.4 The. driving. and. stop,- ping mechanism has highandlowspeed driving clutches, the low-speed.- drving clutch acting, first, as a brake after the highespeedclutch-has been disengaged and, iinally, after reversing the rotation, bringing the machine to` rest. in. the desired predeterminedposition..

The driving and stopping mechanism of the 6 machine is more fullyY disclosed in the applicants prior application and is generally similar to that disclosed 4in United States Letters Paten-t.

No. 1,099,326, kgranted June 9, 1914:, upon an application led in the name of Laurence Topham.

Tor control the driving-and stopping mechanism the head ofi the machine 'has a downwardly extending arm cfa lever 64 (Fig. 3) formed with a projection entering a notch in an arm of a treadle-actuated bell-crank lever 66 having a pivot Sii formedV integrally with the lever and rotatable in a bearing in thehead o f the machine.v

The arrangement is Such :that the head oi thev machine mayLread'i-lybegremoved from the flange @il and the treadle-actuated lever 66 will sepa-- rate irornthe control lever li'wthoutdismantling any of the other treadle connections. The treadie lever has a horizontal arm connected vtotlie upper end of a; downwardly extending rod 'llly se cured. at its lowerl endto a clamp 'l2 surroundingl the rodV 'It anda similar rod '13 connectedY at its: The treadle it' projects from the front of the machine base and' is pivotallyA mounted on a shaft 74: at the rearv lower end to the treadle lil;

of the base. By these connections, the machine maybe driven andthe speed controlled inthe usual: way by increasing or decreasing thev pressure exerted on the treaidle lll'. Upon release' of the treadle, the treadle rods' are raised' by' a spring. le contained wholly within the base and the control lever 64 is rocked in a direction to throw out of operation a high-speed clutch' and set in operation the stopping mechanism.

While the illustrated frame structure is of particularv advantage for use. withV a sewing or otherA shoe machine which it is' desired to adjust the height to accommodate the convenience of the operator' of the machina certain features of' the structure are useful. where no height adjustmentis required. Also certain featernal'cross-sectional"areaofsaidcolumn to provide.V vacant spaceabout the post in the column. andr a bearing, sleeve. resiliently mounted onthe upper. portion oi'theA column tting the post to enable slidingmovementof thepost. in the. sleeve, in combination with means' forreleasably clamping the post' to the sleeve disposed wholly within the, space. in the column toeliminate external appendages on. said column, andi a, secondbear. ingr. sleeve. secured to the. base for. receiving. the lower end'. of' the postI which. passes. loosely through ity to. smit the. yielding action of. the columnon thebase..

2.' A fabricated frame for a.. machine. of" the type described, .having a. rig-id. base, a.. hollow vertical column rsecured to saidbase, a rigidlpost withinA the column of substantially small size than the4 internall. cross-sectional area of the column, a bearing sleeve secured. to the-upper portion of. said .columntting-said post,.a .support fora machine head carried by said post. and.

a second bearing sleeve in axial alinement with the sleeve on the column secured to said base, in combination with a motor support on said post between ,the two bearing sleeves within the column to enable movement of the machine head while maintaining a uniform distance between the motor support and the head.l

3. A fabricated frame for a machine of the type described, having a rigid base of cast metal, a hollow vertical column of relatively flexible sheet-metal plate bent into a generally C-shaped cross-sectional form resiliently mounted on said base with spaced vertical edges at one side, a rigid post within the column of substantially smaller size than the internal cross-sectional area of the column, a rigid vertical bearing sleeve resiliently mounted on the upper portion of said column fitting said post, and a support for a machine head carried by said post, in combination with a motor support on saidpost spaced .along the post from the sleeve with a portion for supporting the motor projecting from between the spaced vertical edges of the sheet-metal column.

4. A fabricated frame for a machine of the,

type described, having a base, a hollow vertical -column oi sheet metal secured to said base, a rigid post within the column, a bearing sleeve for said post secured to the upper portion of said column, and a machine head support carried by said post outside the column, in combination with a second support on the post inside the column, said second support being spaced from the machine support along the post and projecting from the column between the bearing sleeve and the base, a motor on said second support, a variable-speed driving pulley having conical flanges yieldingly pressed together on the motor, a belt surrounding the pulley and extending to the machine head, and means inside the column for shifting the motor support along the post in a direction lengthwise of the belt to vary the driving ratio of the pulley and the belt as the belt is tighened or loosened by the shifting movement of the motor support.

5. A fabricated frame for a machine of the type described, comprising a cast base, a hollow column of relatively flexible sheet metal plate bent into rectangular C-shaped cross-sectional form with spaced edges at one side, a bearing sleeve secured to the upper portion of said column, a rigid post of substantially smaller size than the internal cross-sectional area of the column slidable vertically in said bearing sleeve within the column, a machine head support carried by said post, and means for securing said post in any position of heightwise adjustment in said sleeve, in combination with a jack screw within the column threadedly received in the bearing sleeve and engaged at its upper end with the support on the post for moving the post vertically to raise and lower the machine head.

6. A fabricated frame for a machine of the type described, having a rigid base of cast metal, ahollow vertical column of relatively flexible sheet-metal plate bent into a generally C-shaped cross-sectional ormmounted on said base with spaced vertical edges at one side, a rigid post within the column of substantially smaller size than the internal cross-sectional area of the column, a rigid vertical bearing sleeve secured to the upper portion of said column iitting said post, and a machine head support carried by said post, in combination with a motor support mounted on said post, said motor support being spaced along the post from the machine support and projecting from between the spaced vertical edges of the sheet-metal column, and means within the column between the column and the post for adjusting the motor support along the post to increase o1' decrease the distance between the machine head 'and the motor support.

7. A fabricated frame for a machine of the type described, having a rigid base of cast metal, a hollow vertical column of relatively exible sheet-metal plate bent into a generally C-shaped cross-sectional form mounted on said base with spaced vertical edges at one side,V a rigid post within the column of substantially smaller size than the internal cross-sectional area of the column, a rigid vertical bearing sleeve secured to the upper portion of said column fitting said post, anda machine head support carried by said post, in combination with a motor support slidingly mounted on said post, said motor support being spaced along the column from the machine support and projecting from between the spaced vertical edges of the sheet-metal column, and means within the column mounted between the column and the post and operatively connected between the post and the motor support for adjusting the motor support along the post to increase or decrease the distance between the machine head and the motor support, comprising a hand wheel projecting outside the column.

8. A fabricated frame for a machine ci the type described, having a base, a hollow vertical column of sheet metal secured to said base, a rigid post within the column, a bearing sleeve for said post secured to the upper portion of said column, and a support for a machine head carried by said post, in combination with a second support on the pcst inside the column between the column and the post extending outside the column, a motor outside the column on said second support, a puliey on the motor projecting into the column and a belt surrounding the motor pulley within the column for driving said machine.

9. A fabricated frame for a machine cf the class described, having a base, a hollow column in the base, a post within the column, a bearing sleeve for said post secured to the upper portion of said column, and asuppcrt for a machine head carried by said post, in combination with a motor support mounted on said post, a threaded shaft within the column connecting the motor support and post, a nut on said shaft rotatable to move the motor support along the post, and a hand wheel projecting from one side of the column geared to the nut on said sha-it for conveniently shifting the motor support along the post to change the distance between the motor support and the head support without changing the height of the machine on the column.

10. A fabricated frame for a machine of the type described comprising a cast base, a hollow column of relatively flexible sheet metal plate bent into a C-shaped cross-sectional form with an opening at the rear, a bearing sleeve secured to the upper portion of the column, a rigid post of substantially smalier size than the internal cross-sectional area of the cloumn slidable vertically in the bearing sleeve while providing substantial vacant space within the column, a machine head support carried by the post, and means for securing said post in any position of heightwise adjustment in said sleeve, in combination with a motor support slidingly mounted on 9 the post in spaced relation to the machine sup-v port, said motor support passing rearwardly from the post and outside the column between its spaced vertical edges, and adjusting means operatively connected between the post and the motor support including a handwheel shaft projecting forwardly from the forward side of the column acting when rotated to slide the motor support along the xpost.

RUTH W. MORRILL,

Administratrirc of the estate of Alfred R. M orrz'lZ,

deceased. l

References Cited 1n the nie of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS Number f Name Date Krawitzky Sept. 13, 1904 Carpenter et a1 July 30, 1912 Barr et a1.l Jan. 9, 1923 Clement et a1. Feb. 5, 1929 Mailoen Dec. 13, 1938 v vBoice Aug, 13, 1940 Caneer-a Dec. 10, 1940 Wellstein May 14, 1946 Prahl Mar. 13, 1951 

